The others, Wu Longkong included, had long since wrapped up their own fights.
Having watched the two of them from start to finish, Wu Longkong's eyes sharpened with quiet interest. Gu Yue had improved enormously.
He knew Arthur's fighting style well enough: cold, clinical, and suffocating, the kind that shut down every exit before you even knew you were trapped. That Gu Yue had lasted even a few exchanges was genuinely impressive.
She's not faking it, Arthur thought, turning it over quickly. He could tell she had given everything she had, and it was clear she really didn't know any hand-to-hand combat.
Coming back to himself, he suddenly noticed that the position he and Gu Yue had ended up in was more than a little awkward.
His gaze dropped to where they were tangled together, and his breath caught.
His hand was still wrapped around Gu Yue's wrist, her skin soft and warm against his fingers.
Gu Yue was leaning slightly to one side, her hair brushing his shoulder, carrying with it a faint, clean scent.
Those unusual eyes of hers were inches from his face.
A glint of mischief lit them up as she tilted her head upward, edging just a little closer.
"Ooooh!" The onlookers let out a collective sound.
Then a single voice cut through in pure disbelief.
"What are you two doing?!"
Everyone turned. Standing in the doorway at the edge of the training grounds was a silver-haired girl.
For Na'er, today was supposed to be a good day.
She was going to see Arthur again after so long, and she was close to reclaiming the power of the Golden Dragon King.
So why, then...
She had come to Eastsea Academy, found out from the dean that Arthur was training with Class Zero, and rushed over as fast as she could.
And this was what she walked in on.
Arthur on top of Gu Yue. The two of them practically about to kiss.
Na'er's fury ignited. That was her spot.
It had been three years ago, too.
That conniving Gu Yue. I'll deal with her myself.
A dragon-shaped phantom blazed gold behind her and vanished in an instant. Na'er launched herself upward with terrifying force and came crashing down.
Furious. Ferocious. Fast.
Golden light flooded the entire training floor. The dragon phantom bared its fangs, and the crushing pressure of raw power set the air itself humming.
The onlookers went pale. They stumbled back instinctively. Wu Longkong didn't move. He could feel no killing intent from her.
There was no time to think. Arthur and Gu Yue sprang to their feet and leaped back.
Na'er slammed down right where they had been.
A deep, resonant boom shook the floor. Cracks exploded outward from her landing point, sending chunks of stone scattering in every direction.
"Okay, hold on. Na'er, let's talk." Despite three years apart, Arthur recognized her the second he saw her.
He still had no idea why she'd attacked out of nowhere.
Could she be getting back at me for tricking her into being my mount? Though I did let her ride me in return...
While his thoughts raced, Na'er's voice snapped him back to reality.
"Arthur, step aside!"
"Gu Yue, only one of us is walking out of here today!"
She knew exactly what Gu Yue was doing: trying to win Arthur over through his feelings, using affection to tie him to her side. Na'er hadn't worried about it before. She had stripped Gu Yue of every human emotion, so what real threat could she possibly be?
She never imagined Gu Yue would get this far.
This wasn't a minor inconvenience anymore. It called for overwhelming force.
"Oh?" Arthur glanced at Gu Yue, who had ducked behind him, then back at Na'er, still fuming. Something clicked. "So you're not actually here for me?"
"Of course not. I'm here for Gu Yue."
"Why didn't you just say that?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Arthur stepped cleanly to the side and left Gu Yue completely exposed.
Nothing better than watching a good fight.
Gu Yue, who had been using him as cover, was caught completely off guard. Na'er's blazing stare locked onto her with full intensity.
Surprise flickered in Gu Yue's eyes, but there wasn't the slightest trace of panic. She straightened up and met Na'er's gaze head-on.
"I can't think of a single reason you'd come at me," she said. The confusion was genuine. Hadn't Na'er come to help her reclaim the Golden Dragon King? Why was she attacking instead?
"Hmph." None of the sweetness Na'er had shown back in the Spirit Pagoda was present now. "Arthur belongs to me."
Oh no.
The onlookers leaned back as one.
Even Wu Longkong was caught off guard. It's about that?
"If that's all it is," Gu Yue said, feeling the fierce possessiveness radiating off Na'er, growing more confused by the second. This kind of thinking was completely foreign to her.
"Then that's even more reason not to attack me."
"You like Arthur, and I like Arthur too. Doesn't that make us allies?"
The moment those words left her mouth, the training hall went so quiet you could hear heartbeats.
Several envious stares drifted toward Arthur. He spread his hands, genuinely at a loss. He hadn't expected Gu Yue to be quite like this.
Na'er's clenched fist froze mid-swing, and then she laughed, the tension draining out of her all at once.
Why am I picking a fight with a dragon who literally has no emotions left?
With a sigh, she lowered her fist.
The whole sharp, charged atmosphere dissolved in an instant.
Gu Yue stood there thoroughly confused, unable to make sense of how someone could go from furious to laughing in two seconds flat. Inwardly, she reflected: It was the right call, cutting Na'er off from all of this. Far too unpredictable.
This makes absolutely no sense.
Nearby, Arthur watched with a faint twinge of disappointment.
So they're really not going to fight.
If Na'er and Gu Yue had actually gone at each other... just thinking about it would've been something.
"You're all still here."
Yu Zhen walked in. He had come to let Wu Longkong know that Class Zero was getting a new member.
But the moment he stepped inside, the strange atmosphere in the room stopped him cold.
The silver-haired girl stood in the center of the floor. The blue-robed girl wore an expression of complete calm. Arthur was craning his neck in a way that seemed half-suspicious, and several others were crammed into the corners with their eyes wandering everywhere.
Something's off here.
Not surprising, really. Class Zero had quite a collection of well-connected students packed into it. The Dragon Sparrow Douluo's nephew. Shrek's own Wu Longkong. The hard-to-read Gu Yue. And now Na'er, fresh from Spirit Pagoda headquarters and clearly backed by someone significant.
With a group like this, if anything actually went sideways, Yu Zhen had absolutely no desire to be anywhere near it. He wouldn't survive it.
He narrowed his eyes slightly. Decades as dean had given him a sharp nose for trouble, and something was definitely brewing here.
He had originally planned to stay and watch the students train.
On reflection, a quick exit was the much smarter move.
"Teacher Wu, this is Na'er, the newest member of Class Zero."
"That's all I had to say. Things are busy around the academy, so I'll leave you to it."
He was out the door almost as fast as he had come in.
"Ahem." Wu Longkong was the one who broke the silence.
He pulled his gaze away from the doorway and looked over everyone present, his tone carrying its usual cool detachment. "Since this is the academy's decision, everyone falls in line."
His eyes moved over Gu Yue's composed face and Arthur's unreadable expression before settling on Na'er.
He added, same measured calm: "Class Zero doesn't carry passengers. Starting tomorrow, you train with everyone else."
Na'er stepped half a pace toward Arthur, closing the gap just slightly, her voice sliding back into its familiar soft lilt. "Thank you, Teacher!"
Xie Xie and the others kept stealing looks in her direction.
She had only made one move, but anyone watching could see how dangerous Na'er was. The powerful dragon-shaped martial spirit and the cracked floor beneath her feet said enough about what she was capable of.
Only Tang Wulin showed no particular reaction. From the moment Na'er appeared, the force inside him, the one Old Tang had described as the power of the Golden Dragon King, had been stirring restlessly.
On top of that, ever since he had finished absorbing the first seal, Old Tang had gone completely silent and hadn't responded to him at all.
A vague, nameless unease settled over Tang Wulin.